College baseball roundup: USC comes out swinging

Staff reports

Published: Friday, March 29, 2013 at 10:37 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 29, 2013 at 10:37 p.m.

In Columbia, No. 14 South Carolina batted around in the first inning to score five times and senior left-hander Nolan Belcher worked into the ninth inning and struck out nine batters with no walks to earn his fifth win of the season as the Gamecocks knocked off No. 13 Texas A&M 6-4 on Friday night at Carolina Stadium.

South Carolina improved to 21-6 and 4-4 in the SEC with the Aggies falling to 18-10 and 5-3 in conference play.

Belcher (5-2) worked 8 1/3 innings and allowed four runs — two earned — on seven hits. Tyler Webb recorded the final two outs with a pair of strikeouts to capture his 10th save of the year.

Tanner English and Chase Vergason collected three hits each to lead the Gamecocks' offensive attack. English drove in a team-high two runs.

Wofford 9, Appalachian State 1: In Boone, N.C., Brandon Yarusi tossed a complete-game gem to lead the Terriers (13-14, 4-6 SoCon) to a victory over the Mountaineers (12-9, 4-5).

Yarusi allowed one run on four hits to capture his first victory of the season.

Josh Hyman and Seth Neely each finished 4-for-4 from the plate as the offense pounded out nine runs on 15 hits for Wofford. Hyman crossed the plate four times and James Plaisted, Clark Wise and Luke Feisal each drove in two runs.

David Roseboom improved to 5-1 on the season for Upstate. Roseboom allowed four runs — three earned — in 6 1/3 innings. He also whiffed nine batters. The Spartans' Chad Sobotka dominated in relief to capture his fourth save of the season. Sobotka struck out five in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

Limestone's losing streak extended to five straight after the heartbreaking loss.

Chad Balderman and Julian Bridges each collected two hits for the Saints.

Limestone starter Cameron Ward received the no-decison, after allowing one run on just two hits in 8 1/3 impressive innings pitched.

Coker 5, North Greenville 3: In Hartsville, North Greenville (11-20, 4-9 Conference Carolinas) couldn't hold off a Coker rally. Andrew Lawrence was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Ryan Woodring took the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, on nine hits in seven innings.

<p>In Columbia, No. 14 South Carolina batted around in the first inning to score five times and senior left-hander Nolan Belcher worked into the ninth inning and struck out nine batters with no walks to earn his fifth win of the season as the Gamecocks knocked off No. 13 Texas A&M 6-4 on Friday night at Carolina Stadium. </p><p>South Carolina improved to 21-6 and 4-4 in the SEC with the Aggies falling to 18-10 and 5-3 in conference play.</p><p>Belcher (5-2) worked 8 1/3 innings and allowed four runs — two earned — on seven hits. Tyler Webb recorded the final two outs with a pair of strikeouts to capture his 10th save of the year.</p><p>Tanner English and Chase Vergason collected three hits each to lead the Gamecocks' offensive attack. English drove in a team-high two runs.</p><p><b>Wofford 9, Appalachian State 1:</b> In Boone, N.C., Brandon Yarusi tossed a complete-game gem to lead the Terriers (13-14, 4-6 SoCon) to a victory over the Mountaineers (12-9, 4-5).</p><p>Yarusi allowed one run on four hits to capture his first victory of the season.</p><p>Josh Hyman and Seth Neely each finished 4-for-4 from the plate as the offense pounded out nine runs on 15 hits for Wofford. Hyman crossed the plate four times and James Plaisted, Clark Wise and Luke Feisal each drove in two runs.</p><p><b>USC Upstate 5, Northern Kentucky 4:</b> Brandon Patterson went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to help the Spartans (14-11, 3-5 A-Sun) slip past Northern Kentucky (3-23, 1-4) at Harley Park.</p><p>David Roseboom improved to 5-1 on the season for Upstate. Roseboom allowed four runs — three earned — in 6 1/3 innings. He also whiffed nine batters. The Spartans' Chad Sobotka dominated in relief to capture his fourth save of the season. Sobotka struck out five in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.</p><p><b>Barton 2, Limestone 1:</b> In Gaffney, Collins Cuthrell smashed a two-run ninth-inning home run off reliever Kaleb Earls (4-4) to lift the Bulldogs (14-14, 5-8 Conference Carolinas) past the Saints (16-15, 6-9).</p><p>Limestone's losing streak extended to five straight after the heartbreaking loss.</p><p>Chad Balderman and Julian Bridges each collected two hits for the Saints.</p><p>Limestone starter Cameron Ward received the no-decison, after allowing one run on just two hits in 8 1/3 impressive innings pitched.</p><p><b>Coker 5, North Greenville 3:</b> In Hartsville, North Greenville (11-20, 4-9 Conference Carolinas) couldn't hold off a Coker rally. Andrew Lawrence was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Ryan Woodring took the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, on nine hits in seven innings.</p>